"An essential message must come out of this summit, that is: the Strategy of Lisbon works". José Manuel Barroso, president of the EU Commission, who was present in Strasbourg for the debate on the summit of 13 and 14 March, concentrated on one of the subjects of the meeting of the heads of State and government. "It is necessary to acknowledge that our current unemployment rate is 7%, one of the lowest of any time. In the last two years, over six million jobs were created. But that’s not all. Employment increases when enterprise productivity increases. On the other hand, we cannot say we are exempt from financial market instability. The price of energy is too high, while inflation grows. And inflation drains wages and pensions". "Moreover, we cannot neglect the fact that growth rhythms are too different from one country to the next". For those reasons, Barroso requires "concrete results" and operational skills from the summit of the 27 member States. "We must rely on research and innovation, increase youth training, and complete the common market, in such a way that the small and medium-sized enterprises will have more chances to sell their goods. We must protect our economies without sinking into protectionism".
